Yuri Yurovsky belonged to the distinguished generation of Kievan and Soviet artists of the twentieth century. Renowned as a landscape painter and exceptional colorist, he was also a master of still life. Many regarded him as one of the finest colorists of his time. For Yurovsky, nature—Mother Earth herself—was his true calling and enduring muse.

A pivotal moment in his artistic formation came at the age of 17, when he studied under Kazimir Malevich.

 Later, Yurovsky became a mentor and friend to artists such as Nikolai Glushchenko, Tatyana Yablonskaya, Semyon Guetsky, and Viktor Koshevoy. His body of work reveals a remarkable synthesis of classical training, avant-garde experimentation, and postwar émigré expression—qualities that make his art both historically and artistically significant.

From the 1930s through the 1990s, Yurovsky also cultivated an impressive art collection. Over several decades, he gathered drawings and paintings by his close friends and colleagues, building a museum-quality assemblage of twentieth-century Ukrainian and Russian art.
The Yurovsky Collection now comprises more than 900 works, including 248 landscapes and still lifes by Yurovsky himself, and over 600 original theatrical sketches by his remarkable contemporaries—artists such as Fedor Nirod, Tatiana Bruni, Anatoly Petritsky, and many others.

The celebrated artist Tatiana Bruni, a close friend of Yurovsky, once said:

Yuri amazed me with his exceptionally refined perception of the natural world. His autumns, his summers, his winters—each season—is infused with a sensitivity that reaches the depths of the soul and a profound understanding of nature. I love landscapes, and when I look at Yuri’s paintings, I feel revived. I see myself within the scene—I enter the painting, walking through it, dreaming, softly singing...”

Even as a student at the Kyiv Art Institute, Yurovsky’s talent stood out. Under the guidance of Professor Rakitsky, he developed the technical mastery that would define his legacy. Throughout his life, he remained deeply connected to both painting and collecting—particularly theatrical design for ballet and opera. His collection reflects the virtuosity of a generation that carried forward the traditions of Léon Bakst and Kazimir Malevich, bridging classical heritage with modern vision in a timeless and vital dialogue.

Personally connected to Kazimir Malevich, Yurovsky shared his mentor’s sensitivity to color, form, and the rhythmic poetry of nature. A true poet of the landscape, he lived among the great artists of his era and found constant inspiration in music, which echoed through every brushstroke of his art.